Britain remembers Sarah Everard | Daily Mail Online

Thousands of Britons tonight stood together to remember Sarah Everard in at least nine vigils held in towns and cities across Britain – in defiance of calls for the events to be cancelled in the wake of Covid-19.

Mourners gathered in Clapham Common from 6pm on Saturday to lay flowers and pay tribute to the marketing executive, who was found dead in Kent a week after she disappeared while walking home in south London. 

Clashes broke out later in the night, with Scotland Yard seen detaining several women who had congregated without social distancing at a grandstand close to where Miss Everard vanished on March 3.  

The planned event had been cancelled following a High Court battle on Friday, but an estimated 1,500 Londoners defied calls from the Metropolitan Police ‘stay at home or find a lawful and safer way to express your views’ to attend.

As the scenes quickly turned tense, and Scotland Yard urged attendees to leave, hundreds of others gathered at vigils in Bristol and Leeds to light candles in memory of the marketing executive.  

In Cambridge, several Britons held placards and candles on King’s Parade – while others gathered in Bournemouth.

Further vigils were held in Nottingham, Cardiff, and Edinburgh, where Britons lit candles outside the Scottish Parliament. 

Dozens also attended a vigil in memory of Miss Everard in Birmingham tonight, defying a police request not to gather due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.  

One woman, addressing the vigil, said: ‘The police have prevented this, but despite that we have still come out in a pretty decent number. I think we should all be really proud of the fact that we have stood our ground anyway.’

She added: ‘One of the reasons I am here today is not just to acknowledge the tragic, awful thing that happened to Sarah, but also the countless women who are going to be dying because of the system.’

Earlier, attendees had lit candles and laid them at the foot of a tree in Victoria Square, to which signs had been fixed reading ‘I am Sarah Everard’ and ‘Male violence is for men to fix’.

Virtual events were also held in Sarah’s memory tonight, with QI presenter Sandi Toksvig opening an online vigil held by Feminists of London by saying her death ‘should be a turning point.’ 

LONDON: Crowds gathered on Clapham Common tonight near to where Sarah Everard vanished on March 3, despite the Metropolitan Police urging mourners to stay home

CAMBRIDGE: Mourners hold candles and placards in support of the marketing executive on King’s Parade tonight

BRISTOL: On College Green, Britons lit candles and laid flowers in remembrance of Miss Everard, who was found dead in Kent

BOURNEMOUTH: A gathering also took place in Bournemouth, where a handful of Britons stood socially distanced

NOTTINGHAM: Those in Nottingham stood in solidarity with the late Miss Everard, following her kidnap and murder 

LEEDS: A placard reading ‘We are all Sarah’ was left on the steps of the Parkinson Building at the University of Leeds today

EDINBURGH: People light candles outside the Scottish Parliament after the Reclaim These Streets vigil for Miss Everard in Edinburgh was cancelled

CARDIFF: Women hold up placards outside the Senedd in Cardiff during a Reclaim These Streets vigil for Sarah Everard

BIRMINGHAM: A woman places a candle in Birmingham after the Reclaim These Streets vigil for Sarah Everard was officially cancelled

‘Tomorrow is Mother’s Day. Never have I felt more passionately concerned about my kids,’ she said. ‘It surely cannot be asking too much to want them simply to be free, to walk where they like, when they like.

‘I am filled in equal measure with profound sorrow and rage, and I know there are many who share this rage and I think it is entirely justifiable. But I also know that it will harm rather than help us if we don’t try and direct that anger to good purpose.’

She added that it was not a ‘small change’ that was needed, but a ‘cultural shift about how women are viewed and treated both in the public and private space’.

‘This has to be a turning point where ending violence finally becomes a political priority,’ she said.

Mandu Reid, the leader of the Women’s Equality Party, added violence against women and girls is ‘akin to a form of domestic terrorism’.

Speaking at Feminists of London’s virtual vigil, she said: ‘The pain and poignancy of this moment lies in the devastating fact that all women and every girl lives under the perpetual threat that what happened to Sarah could happen to any one of us.

‘The reality for women and girls is that the harassment we experience, which is as omnipresent as the air we breathe, could escalate at any time.’

LONDON: The bandstand was surrounded by flowers laid three-foot deep as people gathered for a vigil

LONDON: A well-wisher places a adds a tribute to the growing pile from a gap in a police cordon at the band-stand where a planned vigil in honour of murder victim Miss Everard

LONDON: People clash with police tonight during a gathering at a memorial site near the Clapham Common bandstand

LONDON: Police officers form a cordon as well-wishers turn on their phone torches as they gather at a bandstand where a planned vigil in honour of murder victim Miss Everard was cancelled

LONDON: Those paying tribute to Miss Everard place flowers and candles around a tree in Clapham Common tonight

BRISTOL: People bring flowers and candles on College Green in Bristol after the Reclaim These Streets vigil for Sarah Everard was officially cancelled

EDINBURGH: A police liaison officer talks to people outside the Scottish Parliament after the Reclaim These Streets vigil for Sarah Everard in Edinburgh was cancelled

EDINBURGH: People gather outside the Scottish Parliament after the Reclaim These Streets vigil for Sarah Everard in Edinburgh was cancelled

BOURNEMOUTH: Three women light candles in Bournemouth after the Reclaim These Streets vigil for Sarah Everard was cancelled

Scotland Yard urged Britons to leave Clapham Common as the scenes quickly turned tense on Saturday night

She continued: ‘I am done with empty platitudes from political leaders from across the spectrum who treat male violence like a tragic but inevitable force of nature, as if they haven’t spent years slashing budgets to prevention programmes and support services.’ 

Planned gatherings across the UK were today officially cancelled due to coronavirus restrictions, but at least 1,500 Londoners defied pleas from the Metropolitan Police to attend a vigil in Clapham Common. 

A number of police officers moved in on the bandstand to block access for speakers as the crowd started chanting ‘arrest your own’ and ‘shame on you’ this evening. Scenes quickly turned violent as officers pinned women to the ground to handcuff them.

Footage posted to social media showed a tussle between Metropolitan Police officers and some of the crowd as some shouted ‘you are scum’ following the brief clash. One woman screamed ‘you’re supposed to protect us’. 

Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey and Conservative MP Steve Baker were among parliamentarians condemning the use of force, as Mr Baker described events in Clapham as ‘unspeakable scenes’.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: ‘The scenes in Clapham this evening are deeply disturbing. Women came together to mourn Sarah Everard – they should have been able to do so peacefully.’

‘I share their anger and upset at how this has been handled. This was not the way to police this protest,’ he added.

Liberal Democrats deputy leader Daisy Cooper tweeted that the scenes in Clapham were ‘disgusting and completely avoidable’.

She said: ‘After the court case yesterday, the High Court left the door open for the MET police to engage with the organisers to agree a peaceful, socially distant vigil. They refused and did this instead.’

Harriet Harman, MP for Camberwell and Peckham, added: ‘Met mishandled vigil plan from the outset. They should have reached agreement. Terrible scenes in Clapham. I don’t want to see any of these women in court.’ 

Reclaim These Streets, which had planned to hold the Clapham vigil before it was cancelled, today urged people to take part in a doorstep vigil at 9.30pm on Saturday, with the group saying it would be joining people across the country and ‘shining a light, a candle, a torch, a phone, to remember Sarah Everard and all the women affected by and lost to violence’.

 A High Court judge last night refused to intervene on behalf of the group in a legal challenge over the right to gather for a protest during coronavirus restrictions

BIRMINGHAM: A woman lights a candle in Birmingham after the Reclaim These Streets vigil for Miss Everard was officially cancelled

CAMBRIDGE: Women lined a road in Cambridge and held up signs as they held a vigil for Ms Everard

BRISTOL: Mounted police watched over a vigil on the College Green this evening

The vigil was planned for Saturday in memory of marketing executive Sarah Everard, who disappeared while walking home to Brixton on March 3

They added: ‘We aren’t just lighting a candle for the women we’ve lost: we have been inspired by the women who have reached out and hope this is just the start of a movement that will light a fire for change.’

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would light a candle for Ms Everard with his fiancee Carrie Symonds, adding that he would be thinking of the 33-year-old’s family and friends.

‘I cannot imagine how unbearable their pain and grief is. We must work fast to find all the answers to this horrifying crime,’ he said.

‘I will do everything I can to make sure the streets are safe and ensure women and girls do not face harassment or abuse.’

Floral tributes to Ms Everard had been laid at the bandstand in Clapham Common ahead of the gathering growing in pace from 6pm, with the Duchess of Cambridge seen visiting the make-shift memorial to pay her respects.  

Kensington Palace said Kate Middleton, who was not wearing a face covering, ‘remembers what it was like to walk around London at night before she was married’ and ‘wanted to pay her respects to the family and to Sarah’, reported Sky.  

LONDON: Police attempt to break up a vigil for Ms Everard at the bandstand on Clapham Common

LONDON: Hundreds of mourners defied social distancing to gather at Clapham Common on Saturday night

Kensington Palace said Kate (pictured) ‘wanted to pay her respects to the family and to Sarah’, reported Sky . ‘She remembers what is was like to walk around London at night before she was married,’ the palace added

The unexpected visit came after a planned vigil was cancelled, with organisers citing the Met Police’s ‘lack of constructive engagement’ to help make it Covid secure

On Friday, a High Court judge refused to intervene on behalf of the group in a legal challenge over the right to gather for a protest during coronavirus restrictions.

The group said today that despite their attempts to work with police to ensure the Clapham vigil could proceed safely, they now felt it could not go ahead.

Organisers said they had made ‘many suggestions’ to police, including splitting the event into different time slots – but that they were told going ahead with a vigil could risk a £10,000 fine each for each woman organising.

A number of police forces across the country also issued statements urging people not to attend the in-person events, instead encouraging people to move online.

Greater Manchester Police said: ‘We along with the rest of the country are shocked and saddened about what happened to Sarah Everard – women should never have to live in fear. Gathering in large groups is still unlawful so if you plan on joining events this weekend, please do so in a covid-safe way.’ 

A vigil planned for Miss Everard’s home city of York was cancelled and organisers urged people to post a photo of a candle in their window or doorway, while events in Coventry and Birmingham were also cancelled.

The fundraising target of £320,000 by Reclaim These Streets was set to mirror the fines which might have been issued had the vigils gone ahead, with the aim to raise £10,000 for each of the 32 vigils which organisers said had been scheduled.

Caitlin Prowle, from Reclaim These Streets, said the group had not wanted to end up in a situation they were having to raise funds to pay fines, rather than for charitable causes.

She said the money would ‘just go straight back into a system’ that ‘continues to fail’ women.